


Not quite the best idea

by Moira_chan



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Cross-Posted on Tumblr, Fluff, M/M, Post-Canon, This is kinda stupid though, Yakov appreciation fic, written for Yuri!!! on Ice Valentine's Exchange on tumblr
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-05
Updated: 2017-03-05
Packaged: 2018-09-28 11:45:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,882
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10099178
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Moira_chan/pseuds/Moira_chan
Summary: It all begins with a simple question, really.“Has coach Yakov ever gone on a vacation?”





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [getblacky95](https://archiveofourown.org/users/getblacky95/gifts).



> Hi!  
> I originally wrote this as a gift for tumblr user [getblacky95](http://getblacky95.tumblr.com/) in the [Yuri on Ice Valentine's Exchange](https://yuri-on-ice-valentine-exchange.tumblr.com/). It's nothing extraordinary, but it was still fun to write!
> 
> Should you want to read this on Tumblr, you'll find it [here](http://moirakoro.tumblr.com/post/157837438472/my-gift-for-getblacky95-who-was-my-partner-in).

It all begins with a simple question, really.

“Has coach Yakov ever gone on a vacation?” Yuuri asks out of the blue, as he and Victor are taking a short break on the side of the rink. Victor thinks for a moment; his eyes follow his fiancé’s gaze and land on Russia’s number one skating coach, who’s currently yelling at Mila and Yurio for almost getting in a (playful, at least on Mila’s part) argument in the middle of practice again.  
Now that he thinks about it, Victor can’t think of a single time in his entire career, no, his entire _life_ when Yakov hasn’t been by his side – or at least somewhere near a skating rink. He could live comfortably off his pension and savings by now, yet he’s 70 and still coaching; still coming to the rink every day, still arriving at six thirty precisely; still shouting at Victor, although now it’s because he’s mad that he and Yuuri are happier in love than he’s ever been, still begrudgingly patting Georgi on the back too, still getting annoyed at Yurio’s insubordination…

“I don’t think so,” Victor finally answers, arms crossed and a finger lightly taping his chin. “I guess he’s just as passionate about skating as all of us here.”

Yuuri takes a few more gulps of his water bottle, hands it to Victor and wipes his mouth with the sleeve of his shirt. “Even we took a few days off after the New Year, though…” Victor’s fingers linger on his fiancé’s for a little longer than necessary. Memories of the lovely week-end they spent together in Paris after (both Russian and Japanese) Nationals make his lips curve into a sweet, adoring smile. “I hope he doesn’t overwork himself,” Yuuri goes on. “I mean! I probably have no right to say that, but…”

“No,” Victor interrupts in a soft tone. His Yuuri is always so grateful and caring; he’ll never stop being amazed at how easy it is to fall in love with him all over again, again and again. “You’re right.”

It’s a bit weird, trying to imagine this rink without Yakov here to offer harsh (but always justified) criticism on his every move, or just yell at him when he’s fooling around – but having a coach like him is no given, and after more than a decade of making his life hell by never once listening to his advice, maybe it’s finally time Victor shows he cares for Yakov too.

He’ll discuss this with the others after practice, he decides.

***

And that’s how a month later, right after Worlds, Yakov is presented with plane tickets and a one-week reservation at the best resort hotel they could find on the Italian Riviera.

“What’s the meaning of this?” he mumbles, unbelieving, (and perhaps a little embarrassed).

“It’s a gift from all of us,” Mila explains with a confident smile on her face. She’s the one who suggested the exact location, having made one or two trips there with Emil Nekola and the Crispino siblings in the past. Victor then chose the hotel, and Georgi took care of every remaining detail – including restaurant bookings and (for some reason) ordering the roses which Yakov doesn’t know yet he’ll find in his room upon his arrival. “Our treasured coach deserves a vacation from time to time, after all!”

“Your ‘treasured coach’? You think I’m going to fall for that? Stop trying to pull pranks on me and go back to practice, you’ve wasted enough time already!”

Oh. Well, they were prepared for many reactions, but for Yakov to think this all is just a joke… Victor, at least, is disappointed. Yuuri is quicker to speak up, though.

“Um… Coach Yakov, this is not a prank. I promise we all just, err, want you to take some time off and relax. We believe you deserve it.”

Yuuri is absolutely incapable of being dishonest; especially when he’s like this, with his hair down and an embarrassed look on his face, you can read him like an open book. Yet Yakov doesn’t seem to trust his words at all.

“Was this your idea, Vitya? What are you trying to buy my forgiveness for this time?”

“What? Yakov, I’m hurt. You know I would never-”

“Oh, for fuck’s sake,” Yurio suddenly intervenes, clearly sounding like he’s had enough, “I spent some of my money on this shit idea of a gift too, so just fucking accept it!”

Then he proceeds to turn around angrily and step back on the rink, sliding as far away from his coach and fellow skaters as he can manage on the ice. Everyone else remains in shocked silence for a few more seconds, but Yurio’s outburst has effectively ended the debate; Yakov mumbles a half-hearted _thank you_ and they don’t talk about plane tickets and hotel reservations for the rest of the day.  
Victor guesses it’s fine. Their coach is only supposed to leave in two weeks, after all.

***

But two weeks really do fly by fast when you spend each and every day trying to put together the best programs for next season, and they only find the time to talk about Yakov’s vacation again once or twice.  
He ends up agreeing to go, although still somewhat begrudgingly; so on Saturday afternoon they all meet at the airport to see him off, and after making it clear that they’d better _not_ use his absence as an excuse to slack off, he’s gone.

“I hope he’ll have fun,” Yuuri muses as they’re about to leave the airport, long after Yakov’s plane has taken off and they’ve all had a cup of coffee together.

“He definitely will,” Georgi is quick to assure him. He looks strangely pleased. “Italy is such a romantic country, after all. Maybe he’ll even meet someone who’ll make him finally discover the thrill of love!”

“Uh, yeah, maybe not,” Mila intervenes. “Still, will _we_ be alright while he’s gone…?”

“Of course.” Victor puts on a reassuring smile. “It’s not like it’s the first time we’ll be training alone for a few days. Besides, since I’m an experienced coach now, you can come to me anytime if you-”

“Bullshit! You’re a shit coach, Victor, everyone knows that!”

And once again, it’s Yurio’s screaming that puts an end to their conversation, as well as washes away their doubts a little (not that they’ll ever let him know).

***

Sunday is a day off, so they don’t notice Yakov’s absence very much. At some point during the day, while Victor’s lying on his stomach on the couch and lazily scratching behind the ears of a rather enthusiastic Makkachin, Yuuri wonders aloud if Yakov ever suffers from jet-lag – to which Victor answers he probably doesn’t, and that’s it. They spend the rest of the day lounging around Victor’s (although it’s really theirs now, Victor insists) apartment, cooking together and watching TV together and doing the dishes together the very way that never fails to make Yurio mime the act of puking and say they’re a “couple of fucking disgusting dumbasses”, and overall just enjoying being around each other.

On Monday they’re back to the rink, though, and it soon proves kind of… unsettling not to have Yakov around. Yuuri seems okay, but it takes Victor a few minutes to remember that his coach isn’t there right now, and he doesn’t stop waiting for the lecture he knows he deserves every time he makes a mistake until late in the afternoon.

Tuesday goes by just fine, too; better, even, since Victor manages to pull off that combination that caused him trouble just perfectly not twice, but three times in a row. “It’s a shame Yakov wasn’t here to see this,” he complains, though, once he and Yuuri are taking a break. “You’ll show him when he comes back on Saturday,” comes the answer – and Victor frowns but says nothing.

It only starts getting weird on the following day. They’re training, as usual, Yuuri trying to remember the trickiest part of his free skate choreography and Victor working on his own programs, until their eyes meet and Yuuri smiles with a soft blush on his face, like he’s just that happy to be skating on the same ice as Victor. Which, to be quite honest, Victor can understand – he, too, gets overwhelmed with joy every time he thinks about his fiancé. Still. Yuuri skates up to him and their fingers brush, and the next thing he knows Victor is being pulled into some dance steps they’re only performing to the rhythm of the music seems to Yuuri as he moves.  
What’s weird is not that they’re dancing – they do that all the time, and it usually makes both Yakov and Yurio scream a lot – but rather that suddenly, it feels _very_ wrong for them to be dancing right now. Victor stiffens; luckily, Yuuri notices and stops immediately to give him a questioning, worried look.

“We should be practicing,” Victor says without thinking. “Yakov would get angry if he saw us.”

Yuuri only blinks, although he doesn’t look like he understands, and nods.

And on Thursday, Victor looks more concerned than ever. He can’t stop frowning. “Yuuri,” he whines out of the blue once they’re back home; they’re on the couch watching TV and his head is resting on his fiancé’s lap. “What if he doesn’t come back?”

Yuuri raises a brow, but doesn’t stop gently carding his fingers through Victor’s hair. “Who’s not coming back?”

“Yakov. What if he’s having so much fun on vacation that he decides to retire for good?”

Yuuri doesn’t know what to say. So he only promises Victor that won’t happen, trying to be as reassuring as he can; and Victor wakes him up in the middle of the night to ask him the exact same question. Twice.

So really, it’s a relief- No, it’s mostly a surprise, but it’s also a relief too, when they all suddenly hear a groan on Friday afternoon and they turn to the rink entrance to see Yakov. His plane wasn’t supposed to take off before Saturday morning, yet he’s here already – so Georgi asks how the essential romanticism of the Italian Riviera could have disappointed him, but that’s not why their coach came back early.

“Did you not like the place?” Mila enquires, biting her bottom lip.

Thankfully, it only takes five seconds for their coach to ease off all of their worries.

“It has nothing to do with the place! I could feel you slacking off all the way from Italy!” he almost shouts. “Have you all even been training properly?”

“Oh, Yakov!” Victor exclaims, and it’s the most energetic he’s been in days. “So you _were_ worried about us, after all!”

“The only things I worry about are your performances. And you’d better go back to practice if you’re hoping to win anything next season!”

His declaration is instantly met with approval.  
And the next time Victor feels like thanking Yakov for all he’s ever done for him, he decides on just having a bouquet of flowers delivered to his apartment instead.

(It’s still far from anything the Russian coach even remotely enjoys, but at least it manages to make him feel more relaxed than a week away from his troublesome skaters.)

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading!  
> Btw, I'm moirakoro on both Tumblr and Twitter; you're welcome to come talk to me anytime if you're bored ahah


End file.
